1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of construction materials, namely panels, and particularly to insulated construction panels and methods for construction using same. The invention relates especially to construction methods and materials for use in walls for buildings such as residential dwellings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various methods of wall construction have been known in the past. The construction techniques for residential dwellings represent one manner of approach to wall construction to which the present invention pertains. The typical method of framing a house is to construct the walls on site in considerable length, typically the full length of the given wall. This is in contrast to a modular construction such as the present invention provides in which a given wall is constructed by the assembly of several self-contained, pre-constructed wall units.
For the typical house, the wall is framed from a suitable lumber in a familiar manner with vertical studs connected at the top and bottom by horizontal plates of the same material. Insulation is typically provided by one of two means. First, insulation between the studs may be provided by roll insulation which is cut to length and placed between successive pairs of studs and attached thereto. Alternatively, insulation between the studs may be applied after the interior and exterior walls are erected by blowing insulation into the cavity formed by the walls and studs. A second type of insulation sometimes applied to these stud walls is represented by the board insulation secured to the outside of the framed wall. The outside finish wall is subsequently secured adjacent to and over this insulating board. In many instances the board insulation is secured to the framed wall before the wall is raised into position.
The use of reinforced insulating panels has been known for particular applications. One approach in this regard has been the use of large panels of insulating board, such as eight inch thick panels of a size approximating the wall such as eight feet high and several feet wide. It has been known to use this type of board insulation in the construction of basements by including a structural framing on one side only of the insulating material. The insulation in this instance is cut to provide recesses shaped to receive the framing boards. In this instance, there has not been provided any structural wood members on the outside of the panel.
One disadvantage of prior art methods for providing insulated wall constructions has been that there have been areas of the wall in which the insulating barrier is discontinuous. This arises, for example, at locations where structural members span the thickness of the wall, thus interrupting the interconnection of the insulating material at that location. In contrast, the present invention provides an insulating construction panel and method which provides a fully continuous network of the insulating material, resulting in a much more effective insulating barrier.